Hi and thanks for visiting the best Ravens forum on the planet. You do not have to be a member to browse the various forums, but in order to post and interact with your purple brethren, you will have to **register**. It only takes a couple of minutes. You can also use your Facebook account to log in....just click on the blue 'FConnect' link at the very top of the page.

Re: I am saddened…

EPL games are pretty tame now. Gone are the days of regular rioting. It still happens, but not in the seats (no more terraces in England.) All the EPL games I have been to have been beer free - your beverage choices are hot tea and hot beef broth. There is, however, in-stadium gambling, which you would never see in the United States. I have taken my English brother in law to Ravens games and he has always said it's about the most boring game he's ever watched. Then again, he likes Formula One auto racing....

Re: I am saddened…

Dunk-
Your post and reference to your BIL made me laugh!

Side note, I was in Brittany, France, maybe 5 years or so ago with friends and enjoyed being able to stay in a "real" neighborhood and experience how "real" locals and life were, not what the tourist traps were. We went to a Sunday afternoon local soccer league game, and they served wine and beer at the concession stand, and I chatted with what little French I can speak with some of the locals. It was pretty cool in that I had no sense of tension or conflict off the pitch. Totally different from what I would predict when I was officiating in Columbia/Ellicott City, and Howard, Montgomery and PG counties as far as fan behavior.

Re: I am saddened…

You guys been to Brittany lol? That's a nice place. Some of the people are a bit odd, but really it's a nice place, probably the most laid back place I ever been to. Where abouts may I ask Beau and Loba?

Sorry for going off topic there. I remember when I was watching Wrestlemania this year in Miami, and there were some drunk idiots shouting at each other in the stands, and they were taken away pretty quickly. Me and my brother were laughing, it was quite funny.

These stadiums are so big, it is just frankly too hard to spot everything going on, and shit can happen, just the way life is these days.

Re: I am saddened…

lob, leach--
Flew over to Chuck DeG. with a couple from there who are now USA citizens, but still have family there, own a small house in the country, visit yearly or so. It was eye-opening and reaffirming to get to stay where "real" people live and see for myself how the French regard Americans (which is not at all like the media would have you believe). Drove to Epernay and toured Perrier Jouet, visited the cemetery at Normandy, stayed in Cherbourg, visited Mont St. Michel, then stayed at a little house in the middle of farm country near Gourin. Visited family in Concarneau, bought SWMBO some kitschy/cool stuff in Quimper, drove to watch Rennes play Auxerre (sp?) and was treated like royalty (takes a whole post on its own!), went to a local neigborhood league football game where they served beer and wine in lieu of sodas and watched the goalie get red-carded, ate some fantastic food, and generally enjoyed life! It was fun to chat with folks who asked about American football and some of the Ravens emblems and clothing I wore, and I think I may have created a fan or two for us!

And lob, I would NEVER be "in" that hosebag! Pop Petard always told me, "Son, ya just never know where that thing's been..."

Re: I am saddened…

Originally Posted by Beau Petard

lob, leach--
Flew over to Chuck DeG. with a couple from there who are now USA citizens, but still have family there, own a small house in the country, visit yearly or so. It was eye-opening and reaffirming to get to stay where "real" people live and see for myself how the French regard Americans (which is not at all like the media would have you believe). Drove to Epernay and toured Perrier Jouet, visited the cemetery at Normandy, stayed in Cherbourg, visited Mont St. Michel, then stayed at a little house in the middle of farm country near Gourin. Visited family in Concarneau, bought SWMBO some kitschy/cool stuff in Quimper, drove to watch Rennes play Auxerre (sp?) and was treated like royalty (takes a whole post on its own!), went to a local neigborhood league football game where they served beer and wine in lieu of sodas and watched the goalie get red-carded, ate some fantastic food, and generally enjoyed life! It was fun to chat with folks who asked about American football and some of the Ravens emblems and clothing I wore, and I think I may have created a fan or two for us!

And lob, I would NEVER be "in" that hosebag! Pop Petard always told me, "Son, ya just never know where that thing's been..."

I spent 2 weeks over there last year and 1 person out of the hundreds I came in contact with gave me shit for being an American that spoke little to no French. EVERYONE else I met did there best to either speak English or work with me and my wife in our shitty excuse for French. Toughest was Belgium because it is a hybrid French, but we were only there for the day.

And Normandy and the way they feel about Americans is totally misrepresented, they honor the Americans and our sacrifice. I am down right hostile to people when they say the French hate Americans. Unless you spent a goodly amount of time over there and met the people, you KNOW NOTHING. Damn the media and politicians, it is the biggest problem with this country.

As for sporting events, I went to 6 Nation Rugby in Edinburgh a few years back, South Africa v. Scotland. Damn were the people fun, cool, and it was a blast.

Re: I am saddened…

We arrived at the cemetery late in the afternoon just before/as they were getting ready to close for the day. When my friends explained to the officials what our plight was (we needed to drive afterwards to our hotel which was a good distance away), they said "pas de probleme!", had us pull up into their reserved parking area, and let us in to roam around as long as we wished.

As we walked around, I will admit it was beyond emotional - I had tears in my eyes. IMHO, no USA citizen who has a conscience and a soul can behold the rows upon rows of small white headstones and not feel incredibly intense emotion, or understand that there are events in life and the world from which we need to learn as human beings.

We ran into some French soldiers who were there after some type of maneuever and I think were touring as well, and ended up in a conversation - well, at least my friend conversed! - with one of them. From what I could interpret and what my friend told me, the soldiers were extremely proud of what the Americans did for them in WWII, that they shared the tremendous sorrow and loss for the deaths of so many Americans, and that they are eternally grateful for the friendship between the two countries. Not exactly the wine-swilling, cheese-eating, "Americans Go Home!" portrait many would have you believe.